We Don’t Trust YOU: Reflections on Anti-Racism in Psychoanalysis

Abstract

Discussions about race and racism are very difficult among psychoanalysts, and are often polarizing. This article argues that the conception of Whiteness as the pathogenic agent of our social ills has created a good deal of animosity that has interfered with the goals of examining structural racism in psychoanalysis, as in the rest of society. The concept of Whiteness is compared to the scientific racism of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Both constructions are manifestations of essentialism. Epistemic trust and mistrust, potential malignant polarization, and a back-fire effect occur, which distracts from paying enough attention to critical social problems at the moment. Terror Management Theory, fear of one’s mortality, is postulated to result in the avoidance of open discussions about differences. Group discussions utilizing deliberative norms are more productive than the usual psychoanalytic style of free and open-ended discussions, which often promote polarization. Can there be a recovery of epistemic trust among analysts who have similar values but may strongly disagree on the right course to follow? Understanding and addressing the difficulties of discussion among psychoanalysts can contribute to addressing these issues in the social realm.

Keywords:

• Race
• essentialism
• epistemic trust
• polarization
• group-think
• Terror Management Theory

Acknowledgements

Although I discuss the impact of anti-racist approaches in the psychoanalytic field, I believe that many of the issues are relevant to other professions such as mental health fields in general, education (lower and higher), and society in general.

Presented at the New York Psychoanalytic Society and Institute, October 11, 2022. A previous version was presented at the University of Vermont as the Gibbard Lecture on April 1, 2022.

I am grateful to the critical reading by Anne Golomb Hoffman, PhD.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 As of July 28, 2022, White Fragility has been cited over 4,500 times on Google Scholar.

2 I had received written permission from the patient and his family to interview him and publish the interview and discussion.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Leon Hoffman

Leon Hoffman, MD, is a child, and adolescent psychiatrist in private practice, as well as a Training and Supervising Analyst at the New York Psychoanalytic Society and Institute (NYPSI), where he is also Co-Director of the Pacella Research Center. Additionally, Dr. Hoffman is the President of the Center for Regulation Focused Psychotherapy and a psychiatrist/psychoanalyst at the West End Day School, NYC.